


Bad Days, Getting Better

by mellowly



Category: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - School, Coming of Age, Crack Treated Seriously, Fellowship Bonding, First Crush, Friendship, Gen, Second Song, Silly, Slice of Life, Soul Bond, diversity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 08:41:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16909758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mellowly/pseuds/mellowly
Summary: Frederick is being bullied. A lot. He's just turned thirteen, and while he has some good friends, the bullying won't stop.Phillip is awkward and young - he's just eleven, but he wants to be grown up just like his many siblings.Samuel and Martin each have their own challenges, but will do anything for their friends.Leander is new to town, and doesn't know how to fit in at fourteen - besides, something's not quite right.Gian wants to be the pride and joy of his family, but he isn't.Archie has a crush. A major crush.Atara doesn't want to acknowledge that she has a crush.None of them have figured out who they used to be.And in the middle of it all, there's a cricket tournament soon...AKA The one in which they are all reincarnated in the second song of the Ainur as school kids in the modern world - time to get the gang back together!





	1. Mud Puddles and Hot Chocolate

**Author's Note:**

> Some basic info so we don't get the names all muddled up!
> 
> Frederick - Frodo. Hard of hearing, scrawny kid, lives with his uncle.  
> Phillip/Pips - Pippin. The youngest.  
> Martin - Merry. Ready to fight.  
> Samuel - Sam. Still kind and still loves potato.
> 
> Leander - Legolas. French/Chinese immigrant, very awkward.  
> Gian - Gimli. Sikh and stubborn.  
> Archie - Aragorn. Lives in a foster home.  
> Atara - Arwen. Sephardic Jewish, from a prestigious family.  
> Byron - Sauron. Comes from a super rich family, school bully.
> 
> Let's roll!

Frederick Babbin was having an extraordinarily bad day - or so he thought, tasting the sandy gunk of a mud puddle on his tongue. He had been laying there for a while, and he wondered if he should just keep on laying or get up and try to wring the dirt out of his uniform. Sam was probably wondering where he was by now, worrying far too much, and maybe chatting to Pips and Martin about sneaking out of class-

Like clockwork, he heard (on one ear, the other hearing aid had gotten all wet) the sound of sneakers on wet asphalt. Three pairs of arms tugged him from his wet grave, and Frederick blinked away some of the water that dripped into his eyes to meet the gaze of his very best friend.

“Ain’t no good, this here, Fred,” huffed and blustered Sam, scowling towards the tree where Frederick’s backpack was currently hanging, slowly getting filled up with rain.

 _Oh, well_.

“I’ll kick his butt,” Martin supplied unhelpfully, beating his fist into his palm, totally ignoring the fact that he had a cast on the first two fingers of his right hand because he had made the very same statement only a few weeks prior. “No, it’s fine.” Frederick drew himself up and shook gravel and leaves from his hair, the dark curls bouncing and sticking to his skin. “I just want to go home,” he muttered, examining the copious scrapes to his knees that were now starting to bleed.

“All right! I’ve got out bags, sneaked ‘em right out, didn’t I?” Pips pointed to the bike shed, where indeed three schoolbags lay propped up. “An’ I’ll get your stuff too,” he promised, jogging over to the cherry tree in spite of Frederick’s protests. Pips was a year younger, but had plenty of moxie for being the smallest boy in his class. Thankfully he had learned the hard way to climb safely, and hoisted Frederick’s now soaked-through bag down with only a few swear words.

“Come on,” Martin urged, “Mr. Dwight isn’t going to like that we’re gone.” The four boys darted from school grounds and made their way home in increasingly torrential rain. Pips and Martin kept change of clothes in their bags for this reason - more often than not they ended up staying at Frederick’s house, partly due to his extremely kind and helpful uncle Bill.

Uncle Bill, was, for lack of a better word, proper strange. He had travelled the world when he was young, and was of the opinion that kids were to be raised with a healthy sense of disrespect for authority. He had all sorts of strange artefacts on his shelves, and none of the boys had ever seen him get cross.

Understandably, they all loved to stay there. Frederick’s parents had both passed when he was just a toddler, and Uncle Bill was his only real family except for some nasty aunts and annoying cousins. As it were, Uncle Bill welcomed them in from the rain with a heap of towels and some hot chocolate, putting plasters on Frederick’s knees, replacing the batteries in his hearing aids, and letting them sit and chat.

“We’ve got to do something,” said Martin gravely. “Brothers don’t let each other down.”

None of the four were actually related - except Pips and Martin, who were second cousins by marriage - but they had all sworn when they were in the first grade to be brothers forever.

“Yeah,” Pips piped up, though he had not much more to say, sipping his hot chocolate.

“Don’t get into trouble for me, it’s not worth it to mess with-” Frederick warned, but he was cut off by Uncle Bill clearing his throat, emerging from the pantry.

"Mess with who? Go on, lads, I won't tell,” he chuckled upon seeing their paling faces.

“It’s this fellow Byron,” Sam spat. “He keeps pickin’ on Fred.”

“ _Stop it_ ,” Frederick tried, but Sam had set his mind on spilling it all.

“Pushed him down, Uncle Bill! In a puddle an’ everything, it’s not right- And he smashed Martin’s fingers ‘cause he told him to knock it off! Keeps pushing everyone around, thinks he rules the whole school, he does, with how he goes on!”

“I see…” Uncle Bill rubbed his chin, setting a tray of hot cross buns on the table, watching the four friends dig in with varying enthusiasm.

“And I assume the faculty are not quite keen on reprimanding this Byron- He _is_ the Morado boy.”

Four little heads nodded miserably. Sam broke off a bit of his bun to dip into his chocolate, looking especially downcast.

“Find some allies. If you cannot make him quit with ordinary methods, you have got to find help in other places. _Minimal fighting_ ,” he added, eyeing Martin who was looking eager, “But stand up for yourselves. Haven’t you got some more friends to rely on? Now, off to bed, boys. I’ve called your mothers, yes, not to worry. On you go.”

Frederick tucked himself under the sheets, thinking vaguely that if anyone were to even try befriending him, they had to be  _exceptionally_ stupid.


	2. New Friends and Snacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day at the pool with his classmates makes for an excellent friend-making opportunity.
> 
> / - / Indicates that sign language is used.

A tap on his shoulder signalled ready.

Head-first into the pool. Sam was waiting for him at the other end. The absolute stillness of underwater was overwhelming, and for a moment he didn’t know up from down - then he found his balance and kicked off quickly, crossing to the other side, for a moment serenely surrounded by blue.

/ that was quick! /

Frederick grinned and replied with a / thanks /, turning to look at the other boys diving in. There! At the back end of the queue, half a head taller than any of the other boys, and fiercely arguing with Gian.

/ that’s him /.

Sam nodded, pointing the boy out to Martin, who was a fast swimmer and had caught up easily, pulling his goggles off.

Leander du Tallion was a slender, odd boy, and like Frederick, he had never fit in. Far too tall and graceful, and his dark hair was longer than even some of the girls in the class; slanted eyes and a weird accent had already slapped a target on his back. Frederick had seen Byron’s friends jeering at him before, making mean faces behind his back. It was no wonder he stood so arrogantly upon the diving board, long arms stretched into an elegant dive. He surfaced with the expression of someone who had just shown off to his peers.

Waving to him seemed to be the right thing to do, because he swam over with long, steady strokes, stopping in front of the four boys with a half-smile.

“Hello,” he greeted mutedly. “Did you… Want something?”

He seemed far more shy now than from afar, not quite meeting their eyes and instead fiddling with a silver bracelet around his wrist. Everything about him seemed uncomfortable and awkward - what a change from his demeanour only minutes ago!

“Wanna play swim tag with us?”

Leander seemed genuinely surprised, eyebrows raised and stammering for just a moment before regaining his bearings.

“I- Well, yeah!”

The bright, happy smile he gave when lunging for Frederick was worth the sore muscles they’d all likely feel later. Leander joined them after swimming, walking with long legs beside them, his bag slung over one shoulder. It felt nice, walking in the summer sun with a new friend, eating shaved ice that stained their tongues blue.

“Hey so, why’d you argue with Gian?”

Leander rolled his eyes at Martin’s question, gesturing with his spoon - the bracelet on his wrist clinked.

“He hates me,” he said as explanation, “Don’t ask me why. His parents were awful to mine when we moved here.”

The bitterness in his lilting voice was unmistakable. Frederick took a thoughtful bite of his ice, chewing slowly.

“I heard Gian complaining that his new neighbours were right pricks, but I thought he was exaggerating.”

“Well, there you have it! And anyway, he tried to sneak in the queue.”

“You’re becomin’ right English,” Sam cheered, “Getting offended about queues!”

Leander laughed until he choked on shaved ice and Martin had to pat his back.


End file.
